Two Suicide Near NATO Base in Afghanistan Kill Over a Dozen

Two suicide bombings in central Afghanistan carried out by the Taliban have killed at least nine civilians and four Afghan policemen, in the latest illustration of an unhindered insurgency and burgeoning chaos in America’s near-forgotten war zone.

The first attack targeted the local governor’s office in the district of Saidabad, while the second occurred near the compound, just outside a NATO military base.

After more than a decade of war, brutal military occupation, and corrupt nation-building in Afghanistan, the US has accomplished none of its stated goals. Not only is the Taliban insurgency as strong as ever, but Afghan security forces are increasingly turning their guns on NATO troops and criminal US-backed militias are contributing to factional warlordism across the country.

US and NATO forces are due to draw down their presence in the country at the end of 2014, but many fear a surge in violence when they do, as well as a break-up into autonomous parts and a new competition for power in a land that has resisted central authority for centuries.

The US will be leaving Afghanistan far worse off than when they initially invaded, with a looming civil war that could last into the foreseeable future.

Despite the immense costs in blood and treasure for this glaring failure of a war – which is still ongoing, many Americans have to be reminded – neither President Obama or the GOP contender Mitt Romney will talk about it. But omitting the war from the political debate and ignoring its grave consequences will only make things worse.